Pressure Toward Distortion and Involvement in Studying a Civil Rights Organization

The problem of self-management in the field work situation is one of the most frequently recurring themes in social science literature. The researcher's need to structure relationships with his subjects has been repeatedly documented. The idea that data collection can be optimized by paying attention to the distorting consequences of researcher-subject interaction is usually based upon two assumptions: First, that it is in fact possible for the field worker to distinguish his values from those of his subjects; and secondly, that he commands psychological and material resources sufficient to control the interaction between himself and his subjects. This paper discusses a number of problems which emerged in the study of a local civil rights organization and elaborates some of the conditions under which these assumptions have had only limited validity. It attempts to show the kinds of constraints which are imposed upon the research interaction process by the high coincidence of researcher and subject values, and their subsequent consequences for the interpretation and understanding of the organization.